Reefer Madness at Time Magazine

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 24, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

            Not since the 1936 government-sponsored propaganda film “Reefer Madness,” has a respected U.S. publication been so exploited to torpedo an upcoming California vote on legalizing marijuana.  Time Magazine’s July 22 article exploring the “complex” link between marijuana and schizophrenia is one such egregious attempt to sabotage the nation’s first realistic attempt at legalizing cannabis, originally banned in the U.S.  by the 1932 Federal Bureau of Narcotics.  California’s Prop 19 or Marijuana Control Act, slated for the November 2010 ballot, legalizes the manufacture and sale of cannabis.  Proponents hail the 14-year track record of 1996 Prop 215, legalizing marijuana use under doctors’ prescriptions.  Fourteen years of medical marijuana hasn’t seen a dramatic increase in pot smoking, promised by opponents, insisting marijuana leads to dangerous drug abuse.

            Time Magazine reports that schizophrenics—those suffering from delusions, hallucinations and decline in personal and social functioning—are twice as likely to smoke pot, or, even more alarmingly, those that smoke double their chances of developing schizophrenia   A 2007 medical review indicated that a single trial of marijuana increased schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders 40%, attesting to the unreal disconnect.  If that were true, you’d see a dramatic increase in schizophrenia and psychotic disorders since 1996, the year California’s compassionate use law went into effect.  Epidemiology studies indicate that schizophrenia rates remain the same, round 1% of the population.  Studies of schizophrenia indicate that the disease is a genetic, neurological and biochemical disorder having little to do with substance abuse or failed family relationships.

            Patients with mental health problems typically use illicit drugs, not, as researchers suggest, to induce schizophrenia or psychotic symptoms but precisely because dysfunctional people tend to use marijuana and other recreational drugs.  No matter how researchers draw links to marijuana, there’s a disproportionately high number of homeless schizophrenics, garden-variety psychotics, untreated bipolar disorders, developmentally disabled, etc. wandering the streets, let down by a failed mental health care system.  If marijuana were correlated with developmental disabilities, would the same researchers conclude that there’s cause-and-effect?  When New York’s Albert Einstein Medical School’s Dr. Serge Sevy examined 100 schizophrenics between 16 and 40, he found that 75% smoked pot before the onset of their disease, not different from patients with other mental problems.

            Examining the relationship between cannabis and schizophrenia, National Institute of Health researcher Marie-Odile Krebs studied 190 patients and found that marijuana exacerbated schizophrenic symptoms.  She also found that cannabis sensitive patients—those with more so-called endocannabinoid receptors—produce more dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with schizophrenia and psychotic states.  Kreb’s research gives the government exactly what it wants:  Scientific proof to oppose legalizing marijuana.  When you consider the sponsor of Kreb’s research, namely, the U.S. government, it’s no wonder that it presents the worst case scenario.  Her research shows nothing other than schizophrenics don’t do well on any mind-altering drugs.  While it’s true marijuana produces rare psychotic symptoms, including paranoia and panic attacks, it doesn’t cause schizophrenia.

            California’s 14-year Prop 215 experiment with medical marijuana hasn’t produced an increase in schizophrenia, psychosis or other known adverse reactions.  While it’s true that atypical reactions occur, the same can be said for any mind-altering drug.  Legalization proponents tout the expected tax windfall from Prop 19’s state-controlled regulation.  If the last 14 years is any guide, expected changes in the incidence of marijuana use seem unlikely.  Opponents often site the dangers of increased marijuana use, including, addiction and more dangerous drug use, the so-called gateway hypothesis advanced in the government-sponsored propaganda film, “Reefer Madness.”  Government researchers know there’s no link at all between marijuana use and genetic-based, neurological or biochemical-caused disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, etc.

            Time Magazine’s recent exposé on “A Complex Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia” displays the extremes to which the government will go to advance its “Reefer Madness” hypothesis.  Such fears have been long-discredited in the legitimate scientific community.   Marijuana has been vetted more over the last 14-years than most FDA-approved drugs.  Since 1996 in California, there’s been no increase in schizophrenia, psychosis or other mental disorders from marijuana use.  More available in potent form than ever, prescription-grade marijuana hasn’t created the mayhem loudly proclaimed by yesterday and today’s opponents.  November’s legalization initiative, ironically, faces opposition from Northern California’s boutique medical marijuana growers, worried about hurting their specialized business.  Citing junk-science only obscures the real issues.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.